Choosing Your New Computer

Buying a new computer can be difficult, especially when lots of statistics and specifications are thrown at you. If you're not sure what kind of computer you should get, read on.

There are many retailers who claim to have great deals. The larger stores are likely to have good deals, but don't rule out online companies, like Dell. The internet hosts a range of computer manufacturers who offer basic machines, all the way up to high end gaming machines, like Alienware.

When you look for a new computer, you will usually be told the statistics of the computer. If you don't know what to look for, ow what it all means, it can be confusing. The things you need to know are:

- Hard Drive
- RAM
- Processor
- Operating System
- Price

Hard Drive

Let's take a look at the Hard Drive first. Also known as the Hard Disk Drive, this is where you will store all your files. The bigger the hard drive, the more you can store. The capacity of hard drives is measured in gigabytes. 1024 megabytes is 1 gigabyte. If a song is 4 megabytes (MB), you'll be able to fit around 250 on before the drive is full. A standard hard drive for a new computer is probably in the vacinity of 80-100 gigabytes (GB), which is enough to hold lots of data. For the average user this would easily be enough. It is possible to upgrade hard drives, in fact, the latest computers have hard drives that are a terabyte in size (1024 GB). The more GB's you can get on your computer, the more space you have for photos, music, software etc.

RAM

RAM, or Random Access Memory. RAM is needed by programs to perform tasks. RAM is measured in MB and GB. The average computer would come with 512MB of RAM, which is a good amount. If you want your computer to be fast, you may want to look at upgrading the RAM to 1GB (1024MB) which is becoming more and more popular with new computers.

Processor

The processor is very important. It determines the speed of your computer, the bigger the processor, the faster the computer. Processors are measured in gigahertz (GHz). Standard computers will have around 2.8GHz, which is fairly fast. The high end computers are reaching 4.0GHz, but for standard computing, a 3.0GHz processor should be more than enough for most people.

Operating System

New computers usually have Windows XP Home installed. There's not much point spending money to upgrade from Home to Professional, as there is little difference. Recently, computers are being equipped with Genuine Windows XP Media Center, which is for multimedia and entertainment, like watching and recording live TV, listening to music and watching videos.

Price

Computers are becoming cheaper and cheaper. You should be able to get a computer with the following specifications for under $800 (£450):

3.06GHz processor
512MB RAM
160GB Hard Drive

If you are looking for a high end computer, you would expect to pay in excess of $5000 (£2800) and some computers can even reach the $18000 (£10000) price tag.

Remember, always shop around. Different companies have different offers and sales. It might be a good idea to check out the company that developed the computer. More established companies are usually more trustworthy, and offer better support.